JEC Chairman Casey on June Jobs Report

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ June jobs report showing that the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 9.2 percent and 18,000 total nonfarm jobs were added:

“I am discouraged by the number of jobs created in June.  Far too many Americans remain unemployed.  The high unemployment rate can be attributed at least in part to a skills gap.  Programs to retrain our workers who have lost jobs through unfair trade practices have fallen prey to politics and steps to rebuild our manufacturing base have been ignored.  It is essential that we equip our workers with the skills they need to compete and invest in smart cost-effective programs to create jobs and get the economy moving.”

“In Congress, we intend to examine how to best educate our workforce to broaden their skillset so they can adequately compete for these unfilled positions.”

The JEC will hold a hearing titled, “Manufacturing in the USA: Training America’s Workforce,” on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 10:15 am.  The hearing, the second in a series of hearings on “Manufacturing in the U.S.A.,” will focus on equipping workers with the skills they will need for new jobs critical to the nation’s long-term economic success. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector has increased for 22 consecutive months and manufacturing employment has rebounded from its low, adding almost 250,000 jobs since December 2009. 

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